Could two voice messages recorded by an evangelist in South Africa help win the fight against a killer drug that has sparked a national emergency over 9 000 km away in Sierra Leone?
Pastor Emmanuel Bobor who has been playing the messages through a megaphone in drug-infested areas of the city of Kenema says that deaths linked to the drug, Kush, have dropped in the city since the start of the campaign three weeks ago. And he is optimistic about plans to roll out the strategy across the West African nation.
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On April 4 the president of Sierra Leone, Julius Bio, declared a national emergency over the explosive rise in the use of the highly addictive drug made of a mix of formaldehyde, marijuana, fentanyl, tramadol and crushed human bones. Widely used by young people, 60% of whom are unemployed, the drug is responsible for a growing number of fatalities and mental illness cases. President Bio said a task force would be set up to tackle the epidemic.
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Meanwhile, Emmanuel’s megaphone campaign came about after Gqeberha-based evangelist Suzanne Pillans spoke out against the drug several times during a weekly radio slot that is broadcast in Sierra Leone. Emmanuel invited her to start the programme back in 2012 after he discovered her ministry online. After listening to Suzanne’s recent anti-Kush messages on radio he asked her to send him two short WhatsApp messages: a warning about the dangers of Kush, and a Gospel message.
Emmanuel then began to drive through Kenema, stopping to play the two messages through his megaphone at spots frequented by Kush users. Then he prayed with young people who received Jesus through the Gospel message and who wanted to break their addiction to Kush, said Suzanne.
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She said upon hearing of the positive impact of the campaign, Suzanne’s Ministries donated 70 megaphones to 70 pastors in five cities. The pastors will replicate Emmanuel’s ministry for a month in their cities before moving on to five more cities, until the whole of Sierra Leone has been reached, she said.
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